What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?

This was the question posed by king Ahasuerus to the evil man Haman in Esther 6:6
The question provoked some thoughts in my own mind, devotional thoughts concerning our Lord Jesus, and I trust they are beneficial to you as they were to me.
The great question was asked;

"What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?"

Of course the word 'delighteth' would surely remind us of God the Father's tremendous love and delight for his Son, the Perfect Servant in Isaiah chapter 42; "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth..."
Proverbs 8 tells us "Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him"
He always brought pleasure and delight to the heart of God!

The subsequent verses in Esther 6 show us Haman's response, and they provide a poignant comparison to our blessed Lord Jesus, the One who was worthy of all honour!

1. "Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear"
Of course we remember the scene at the judgement hall, where they stripped him of his garments and mockingly arrayed him in a purple robe. "Behold the man!" Pilate proclaimed.
At Calvary we read that they "...crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."

2. "...and the horse that the king rideth upon... bring him on horseback through the street of the city..."
The horse was to add splendour, and grandeur to the man whom the king delights to honour. The horse was to lift up that worthy one from the dust of the streets, to bear him along in ease and comfort.
We are reminded of the scene as they Saviour went out to Calvary; "And he bearing his cross went forth..."
It is touching to remind ourselves of the Saviours walk that day, far from the splendour and grandeur that was reserved for the man whom the king delights to honour.
Of course there would be a time when the Saviour would be lifted up from the dust of the street, and it would be via the cross on which they hung him, suspended between heaven and earth.
"If I be lifted up..."

3. "...and the crown royal which is set upon his head..."

"And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head... and smote him on the head."

4. "...and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour."

What was the cry that day? "But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him"

That was their proclamation and estimation of the one in whom God delights.

Of course we are thankful, that the sufferings were followed by glory, and we are reminded of the words of Philippians 2;

"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

God's estimation is final and will stand for all eternity!

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Rev 5:12

A Few Scriptures Concerning The Soul...

I was struck by the words of one of the hymns in our hymn book recently:

"To Him who suffered on the tree,

 Our souls at His soul's price, to gain, 

Blessing, and praise, and glory be: 

'Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain!'" 

He died the just one for the unjust ones, to bring us to God, as 1 Pet 3:18 tells us. An amazing thing, that the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me (Paul in Gal 2:20)

Let's link a few scriptures relating to the soul;

"God breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Gen 2:7)

We are going back to the beginning… we are created in God's own image, created for God's pleasure and to bring glory to Him.

The Fall - man brought sin into the world, and sin broke that special relationship with God.

"What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt 16:26) 

Nothing more valuable than the soul! It's worth is incalculable, and nothing we can offer can be given in exchange for it... it took the precious blood of Christ in order to redeem/purchase the soul (Our souls at His soul's price, to gain…)

"He poured out His soul unto death" (Isa 53:12) 

To Calvary, the place of sacrifice… The great mystery of Calvary, that the one who knows neither beginning or end should 'taste death for every man'(Heb 2:9) and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross... (Phil 2:8) Note the language used by the prophet, he poured out His soul unto death... a deliberate, voluntary and measured act. Of us it is said that we are 'as water spilt upon the ground' (2 Sam 14:14) this is accidental, involuntary, beyond our control.

"He shall see of the travail (anguish) of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isa 53:11)

Wonder of wonders - that He should look out upon the multitudes of sinners saved by grace and be satisfied!

The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow (1 Pet 1:11)

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

Now nothing but glory for Him! Praise Him!

"To Him who suffered on the tree,

 Our souls at His soul's price, to gain, 

Blessing, and praise, and glory be: 

'Worthy the Lamb, for He was slain!'" 

Luke 7 - devotional thoughts

I was thinking about Luke 7 and some of the lovely things the Spirit of God shows us there concerning the Lord Jesus.

A Beloved Servant - verses 1-10
The account of the centurion's servant. Scripture records he was 'dear unto him' the Revised Version says 'precious', I quite like that rendering. Of course our minds go to the other 'Beloved Servant', of whom Isaiah said "Behold my servant... in whom my soul delighteth"...
We remember that he did always those things that pleased the Father... we remember that he was always about his Father's business.
His was a life of faultless and perfect service. A life lived for others!
Conversely we think of the cruel yet true words of the scribes and the Pharisees at Calvary who said, "he saved others, himself he cannot save". But his service for God was perfect and complete, he could cry from the cross "it is finished!" Praise God for the finished work of Calvary!

An Only Begotten Son - verses 11-18
Here we have the widow of Nain mourning the death of her only son, what a sad and desperate scene.
We think of another beloved son, an only begotten son!
"This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased"
John 3:16 tells us that "...He gave His only begotten Son..."
We remember that he spared not his Son, but delivered him up for us all.
As we think about Christ as the Son of God, we think again of the words of the scribes and Pharisees on Calvary - "He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God."
We bless God that He could say from the cross "FATHER, into Thy hands I commend my spirit"
God raised him from the dead the third day and he ascended to God's right hand where he lives forevermore!

A Worshipping Sinner - verses 36-50
As we look at the close of the chapter and we see that sinful woman creep into the house of Simon the Pharisee and worship the Lord Jesus with that outpouring of affection and devotion, surely in this we see a picture of ourselves today?
The Lord could say to her "thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace" surely this is our situation as we worship the Saviour? Sinners saved by grace, we return to give God the thanks and the praise for the person and work of his beloved Son.
The Saviours words in response to the disgust and cynicism of Simon are lovely - "her sins, which are many are forgiven, for she loved much"
We remember that we love Him because He first loved us... whom having not seen ye love.
Again we contrast these lovely scenes with the Saviour with the cold hearted thoughts of the Pharisee, he poured scorn on the notion that this Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, as he had dared to let such a sinful woman into his presence let alone touch him!
Not so with the Saviour - our blessed Lord used the opportunity to teach Simon a valuable lesson in love...
So it is with us - that we should ever enter into the presence of God to speak well of his Son and worship Him. What a blessing and privilege is ours!

"He brings a poor vile sinner, into His house of wine!"

God bless.

Great is thy faithfulness!

Recently I went to visit my 90 year old grandma in her old folks home, and I wanted to share some verses with her to encourage her. I thought about it and settled on the following verses which are no doubt well known to many, and have inspired hymn writers - Lamentations 3:22-26

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

I think these verses are poignant and profound! How good it would be to every day appreciate and think about the many blessings I have that evidence the great faithfulness of the Lord.

God bless.

What a difference a day makes...

So last night was pretty intense... I posted briefly about the present difficulties we are facing with our house, the new baby and the general 'business' of life. I prayed with my children last night that we would hopefully hear something very soon about our house, and it certainly was an impassioned plea, to which the boys gladly chimed in with their own pleas to the Lord! They were so excited about the house, and all the waiting has definitely had an unsettling effect on them.

Well today we heard that the delay is over! Hopefully things will move to a speedy conclusion now and we can think about moving in within the next few weeks. What a tremendous answer to prayer that is! It felt so good to have that burden of worry and uncertainty lifted from me, I gave a prayer of thanks to the Lord!

How fitting were the words I posted last night? "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I was thinking about the words of the Psalmist, in response to today's news: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psa 107:1

Right now, I'm feeling very thankful, and rejoicing in the Lord's goodness.

God bless.

A word for today...

So there has been a long absence for the believers blog, and that is because I have been massively waylaid over the last year or so with family and church commitments, and with life being so full and busy it has been nigh on impossible to clear one's head and get back own to business with the site.

But, I have found myself in front of the laptop and thought it nigh time to get into a healthy habit of pouring out some of my spiritual musings into the site. This I hope will be cathartic for me, as I grapple with the difficulties and pressures of my life, and may also be encouraging to someone else who may be going through similar circumstances. That is of course if anyone is out there reading this?! Please leave a comment below!

So things have been very difficult over the last few months... as a family we had a new addition in March so we are now up to 4 children. She has not proved to be an easy baby, needing frequent feeds and a lot of personal attention and not wanting to go down on her back! This has had a greater impact on us as a couple as the last 2 children we had were so easy! So the sleep deprivation has really kicked in this time. All of this wouldn't be so bad had we been in our own house, but with a 4th child on the way, we simply had to move out of our 2 bedroom terraced house. All of this was bad timing, as trying to get a large mortgage being self-employed is extremely difficult and stressful. Nevertheless we managed to get one and sold our house with no problems, and we were thankful to God for his goodness in that regard. We agreed a deal in December on our next house which we were super excited about... but we are still waiting to move in. What should have been a short wait of a few weeks for probate to go through has turned into a 4 month extended stay at my in-laws. Whilst we have greatly appreciated their tremendous hospitality and help it has not been ideal, what with all our possessions being in storage, a new baby coming along, and daily journeys back to our old town for school and church etc. The situation has produced a lot of worry and stress and an overwhelming (sometimes) feeling of anxiety.

But I was reading the scriptures and thought these words brought me some comfort in amongst the anxiety and worry that we are currently going through, found in Matthew ch6:

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The verses spoke to me - don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will look after itself, today has enough trouble of it's own! I can't explain why it helped, but the scriptures are often like that, they have a way of speaking to our souls, through the Holy Spirit, and so it was on this occasion. How often the words of the Saviour can bring comfort and encouragement in difficult times!

Have you had a similar experience? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

God bless.

Humanity and deity of Christ seen together

I was thinking recently of some occasions when we see the humanity and the deity of the Lord Jesus brought together. It brought a smile to me and encouraged me so I decided to share it briefly 'on the blog'... I hope these simple thoughts are of benefit to us as we think about the Lord Jesus together.

• Remember when he sat on that well in Samaria, weary with the journey and thirsty. In this he shows us he was still subject to tiredness and to thirst as He was a man! He could say to the woman, "give me to drink" but then later demonstrate his absolute deity by displaying his omniscience - he knew everything about her! She would say "come see a man who told me all things that ever I did, is not this the Christ?" (John 4:4-29)

• Recall when he was crossing the Sea of Galilee and the storm raged yet He was asleep in the hinder part of the boat? Incidentally I love the detail that the Word of God adds, that it was upon a pillow, or cushion! Just as you and I would appreciate a comfortable spot to get some rest, so it was with our blessed Lord. He found a cushion and slept while He had the opportunity, such humanity! But how wonderful it is to recognise that the one who slept was also the one with mastery over the very elements that rocked that boat from side to side! The Lord awoke and with just a few words from his lips quelled the storm - "Peace be still"(Mark 4:35-41) The disciples would remark "what manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" They saw something of his deity now!

• Finally I think of that sad scene in John chapter 11 where we see that "he whom thou lovest is sick"... and the death of Lazarus. The Lord Jesus arrives at the graveside and we read those lovely words "Jesus wept". What could be more human than weeping at the graveside of a loved one? I think this is most precious indeed. I realise that these tears could well be attributed to the Lord witnessing first hand the effects of sin upon the life of one whom he loved so dearly, I believe that there is a sense in which this is true as well. But I also think that these tears were simply because he was moved and saddened that a dear friend had died! Verse 38 says he was "deeply moved" in other translations which I think would lend weight to this. I don't think this is a wrong way to look at these tears, there is nothing wrong sometimes with the simplest interpretation! In this regard it is interesting to note the reaction of the Jews who were eyewitnesses to those tears - They would say "Behold how he loved him!" Even they could recognise in their uncaring and hard-hearted natures, that Jesus was moved to tears that one He loved dearly had passed into death, even though He had the power of life and death. The word used for weep is interesting as it carries with it the idea of weeping silently or quietly and comes from the word "tear-drop". I picture a tear making it's way down the lovely face of the Saviour, as he stands by that graveside. How dignified, how human! It reminds me of those verse Hebrews 4:15 "we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin". He was saddened and so he wept! Just as he was tired so he slept, and he was thirsty so he drank. But we recall that he would cry with a loud voice "Lazarus come forth!" and the dead one was raised at the Lord's command! He could say "I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." 

Think about these words - Such encouragement for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ! Any who die shall live forever in His presence, absent from the body and present with the Lord. And we who live have the prospect of being caught up together with the Lord, and so we shall live forever with Him! What a blessed prospect we have, and what a Saviour we have - let us worship Him together.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Why should I read the Word of God?

Sometimes it worries me that a lot of Christians aren't reading the Word of God, let alone studying it. This can be detected particularly by a believer's speech, actions, behaviour and their usefulness and effectiveness to God and within a local church. Of course a lack of time spent with the Word will also have a negative impact on our testimony outwardly as well. I include myself in this challenge and so I read through Psalm 119 and noticed a series of fundamental reasons why ANY and ALL believers should be reading the Word of God as much as possible. These are just a few to challenge us with, there are many more I assure you!

1. IT CAN KEEP US FROM SIN (By keeping God's Word close to our hearts and obeying it. So important in today's world - v9-11)
2. IT HAS A CLEANSING EFFECT ON OUR LIVES (v9. Of course, obedience to God's Word in the first place will keep us from sin, see point 1 above.)
3. IT SHOWS US 'WHERE WE ARE' (Light for our feet, or our current condition is my particular application here. We may not like it but as we read the Word, the Holy Spirit will show us what is wrong in our lives, and what is right according to His Word - v105)
4. IT SHOWS US 'WHERE SHOULD GO' (Guidance for our pathway - If we are reading it diligently for guidance v105)
5. IT GIVES LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE (Amazingly profound but simple truths revealed to those who are newly converted perhaps - v130)
6. IT GIVES US SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING (Growth and development for Christians, and let's face it, we all need that! - v98-100)
7. IT WILL HELP US THROUGH BAD TIMES (Never forsake reading the Word of God, no matter your circumstances, for God will bring you through and reveal more of himself to you through His Word. Also it stands us in good stead for the future, as believers who have spent time with God's Word will be able to take encouragement and comfort from it, even when they are no longer able to read it perhaps - v92-93)
8. IT GIVES US JOY AND PEACE (Do you know any 'joyless' Christians? Maybe this is why! Reading the Word and hearing God's voice speak to us brings joy! v162 and 165)
9. IT GIVES US HOPE (In Christ, a better thing that this world cannot give us! v81, 114, 147, 74)
10. IT AFFECTS WHAT COMES OUT OF OUR MOUTH (Ok I have perhaps broadened the application here, but I think the lesson still holds true. If we regularly read and meditate upon the Word of God, our speech will be changed or affected for good. I mean this in all senses - our day to day speech with our fellow men, our spiritual conversation with our fellow believers,and perhaps mostly our praise and worship that we present to God - v13)

Of course hand in hand in hand with reading and meditating on the Word comes obedience to it, and further in depth study of course!

I hope these simple scriptures and thoughts will be of benefit to us all as we seek to grow and develop for God day by day.

Yours in Him, Mark

I've been enjoying this song recently...

I believe it is called 'Oh how He loves you and me' and I just love the simplicity and beauty of the words as follows;

"Jesus to Calv'ry did go,
His love for mankind to show!
What He did there,
Brought hope from despair,
Oh how He loves you and me!"

If you're going through difficulty or are feeling discouraged fellow believer, remember the Cross and be encouraged!

Yours in Christ, Mark

We're back!

Well apologies for the long absence readers, the last 12 months or so have been extremely busy and challenging! My employment situation changed (I left my previous employment to start a new business) and we had another child (a baby boy who is now nearly 1) and something had to give!

Life can sometimes be challenging like that, but despite not having the time to sit down and prepare posts I can honestly say that life has changed for the better and God has blessed us greatly over this time. We are very thankful!

However I've been challenged about returning to the blog and so we will endeavour to post shorter articles for encouragement. Hopefully people are still getting some benefit from the site and enjoying what they read!

Watch this space fellow believer...

Yours in Christ, Mark